The Rise and Fall of Tokyo3
by Celine Aensland
Summary: Everbody's favourite martial artist shows up in Tokyo-3 to save the world... does he pull it off?


The Rise and Fall Of Tokyo-3  
by Celine Aensland, April 2005  
Prologue, part 1

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I promise to return all the characters I've borrowed. Hell, I'll even throw in therapy and a free vacation for all of them.

Tokyo-3, Japan; autumn 2031

My name is Saotome Kodama. This is my story.

It's my thirteenth birthday today, but nobody is home. Home is a small apartment on the top floor, the tenth, of a nondescript apartment block, indistinguishable from the numerous other apartments around it. Otousan's hours are already over, but he's gone to visit Okaasan in hospital, where she's been for the last 4 months. He stopped by Hotaru-imoutochan's school to pick her up, on the way, although I'd be happier if he didn't. Hotaru-chan already spends way too much time in hospital.

We're a small family. My Otousan is Saotome Ranma, the handsomest man in the world. He works at the Nerv Facility, although Okaasan doesn't really like him working there. Something happened in Tokyo-3 a long time ago, just before I was born, a really terrible accident, that killed many people and injured many more. Otousan was hurt pretty bad too, and even now he walks with a slight limp, although you wouldn't notice it since Otousan hides it pretty well. Okaasan says Otousan pushes himself too hard, and I agree. He's hardly at home a lot of the time. He explained to me that he owed some people a debt of honour, whatever it is, that's why he works so hard. Also, we're not rich, and between Otousan, Okaasan, and little Hotaru-chan, we need all the money we can get to pay for their medicine and hospital stays.

Okaasan is in hospital a lot. She got injured pretty badly in the same accident that Otousan was in, so badly that Otousan had to donate one of his kidneys to her. I also learnt that she inherited from her own mother, a weak heart. She never complains about the pain, though. Okaasan's always so calm. Her name is Saotome Rei, but before marriage it was Hino Rei. She used to be a miko, a Shrine Maiden, and Otousan says that's why she's so graceful. I wish I could grow up to be as beautiful as Okaasan some day.

And there's little Hotaru-chan. Hotaru-chan is three years younger than me, but she looks much smaller than her ten years would suggest. She doesn't grow as much as the other kids, and there's something wrong with her kidneys. She spends more time in hospital than at home. She's so frail and skinny, almost like a doll, but she has a sweet smile just like Okaasan, that makes you want to hold her and protect her. She doesn't smile a lot, though, and she's always in some kind of pain. I have to look after her a lot, and keep track of all her medicine.

Me, I'm kinda like Otousan, if he wasn't hurt so badly, I guess. Strong and stubborn. I like martial arts too, but I suppose that was natural since I had to learn to control my talent. Otousan and Okaasan both have Yagami blood in them, from their mothers. They call it a curse, the purple flames that I can call forth. Anyway, it didn't take long for me to realise that it scared the other kids, and got me cast as a freak. Being alone a lot of the time let me practice controlling the flame.

It's not as if I had much time to spend moping about not having friends, anyway. I have to do all the chores since Okaasan is away in hospital. Otousan leaves for work very early, so I'm the one who ends up scrambling to fix breakfast and pack an obento for little Hotaru-chan. Then I have to help her get ready - I usually have my own stuff ready the night before. Walk her to school (running would be too tiring for her). Run to my own school; late, more often than not. Endure the hostile and condescending stares of my classmates. Run back to Hotaru-chan's school to pick her up and get her back home, then run back to my own school for club activities in the afternoon. I didn't really care about joining any club, but for some reason the karate sensei talked Otousan into persuading me to join it, and I'm now on the school team. I get no sympathy there either; all my teammates hate me, for being a girl, for being the best, for being different.

When I finally get back home, there are plenty of things to do. I have to tidy up. I have to make something for little Hotaru-chan to eat, and make sure she takes whatever medicine she needs to take, on schedule. School isn't totally out of sight, out of mind either; I have to do my homework, not to mention the extra tuition the teachers heap on me for being a problem student (for being perpetually late to school). Then there's the laundry, cooking, and vacuuming.

It's all very tiring, and anyway Okaasan should be the one doing all of that stuff. I'm not that good a cook, either, even though Okaasan has done her best to teach me. At least Hotaru-chan eats whatever I make without complaining. I don't seem to wake up early enough, either, no matter how hard I try. I've given up watching tv at night, not that there's much time left when I'm done with the chores at night. Hopefully Okaasan will get better soon and come back home, so I can go back to being Hotaru-chan's oneesan instead of her surrogate mother.

There's supposed to be a tournament in two weeks' time, but I don't know if I can make it. For one thing, I've been late to all the recent practices, and the sensei is angry with me - not to mention my teammates. I don't really care if I get to join, but Otousan wouldn't like me to quit. Never quit, he says. Always try hard, give it your best shot. So I will. Hopefully things will turn out for the better. Tomorrow is a new day, isn't that how the saying goes?


End file.
